Fayne and Greene are the only two that would get us a decent return. IMO we definitely have too many defenders and I'd like them to clear room for Gelinas, Urbom, and Merrill next year.

I agree, although I think that Merrill is likely to play in Albany all of next year seeing as how he has barely played the last 2 season at Michigan. A trade for Gagner would be nice, but the price we have to pay would probably be prohibitive at this point.

I agree, although I think that Merrill is likely to play in Albany all of next year seeing as how he has barely played the last 2 season at Michigan. A trade for Gagner would be nice, but the price we have to pay would probably be prohibitive at this point.

He is a college player so he can't have a professional contract yet, so he'll enter with the 3 year Entry Level Contract, when he enters.

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Your unconditional rejection of violence makes you smugly think of yourselves as noble, as enlightened, but in reality it is nothing less than abject moral capitulation to evil. Unconditional rejection of self-defense, because you think its a supposed surrender to violence, leaves you no resort but begging for mercy or offering appeasement.

-Terry Goodkind

Sex Panther cologne -- 50 percent of the time, it works every time.

-Anchorman

The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is now.

He is a college player so he can't have a professional contract yet, so he'll enter with the 3 year Entry Level Contract, when he enters.

Is that how that works? Some people were saying that Merrill might pull the same thing Justin Schultz did and I was under the impression he played in college instead of signing with his AHL team while his contract ran out. Guess I had that whole situation wrong.

Is that how that works? Some people were saying that Merrill might pull the same thing Justin Schultz did and I was under the impression he played in college instead of signing with his AHL team while his contract ran out. Guess I had that whole situation wrong.

If you're drafted from the US College system, and you don't sign with your team for 4 years, then you're a free agent. So there is a ticking clock, it just doesn't have to do with a contract.

Arthur Staple ‏@StapeNewsdayAs for the "Justin Schultz" CBA rule (four years from draft year to sign a contract), #NHL proposed extending that time, and PA rejected it.

0

Your unconditional rejection of violence makes you smugly think of yourselves as noble, as enlightened, but in reality it is nothing less than abject moral capitulation to evil. Unconditional rejection of self-defense, because you think its a supposed surrender to violence, leaves you no resort but begging for mercy or offering appeasement.

-Terry Goodkind

Sex Panther cologne -- 50 percent of the time, it works every time.

-Anchorman

The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is now.

So there is the risk that if he plays his final year at Michigan we can lose the opportunity to sign him.

Yes, he could do that.

I think it's unlikely though. If you're Merrill, you probably realize that you came close to never having an NHL career if your neck had been broken worse than it was. If you do realize this then you'd jump on the guaranteed $1+ million rather than risk losing all that money just so you can pick which team you play on.

0

Your unconditional rejection of violence makes you smugly think of yourselves as noble, as enlightened, but in reality it is nothing less than abject moral capitulation to evil. Unconditional rejection of self-defense, because you think its a supposed surrender to violence, leaves you no resort but begging for mercy or offering appeasement.

-Terry Goodkind

Sex Panther cologne -- 50 percent of the time, it works every time.

-Anchorman

The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is now.

I don't want to trade for Bobby Ryan. Only for the simple reason that he's shown that his heart lies in Philly. Obviously, his mind could be changed, but Im not enthusiastic about trading for him unless he showed that he wanted to come here and stay. I'd also rather not trade for a rental like Getzlaf or Perry (both of whom I'd be fine with on this team) unless they were interesting in re-signing, or Lou swings a Kovy-type deal that he got from Waddell.

I agree with 7 in respect to the "type" of trade I'd like to see. Making trades for Poni types (3rd line type guys) is a lateral move IMO, espc when we don't have Parise anymore. This is going to be a weaker team offensively most likely and if we're going to trade for a forward, I want it to be a guy that will have an impact on one of the top 2 lines and to get that guy we will have to make a sacrifice and I'd rather that trade be for a guy that is a relative "sure-thing" and not a "let's hope he can" situation or a reclamation project.

I think every single player in this organization is potential trade bait right now except for Larsson, Henrique, and Kovy. Anyone else, including all prospects, should be and have to be IMO included in any discussion regarding a trade, obviously depending on whoever the target is and what the needs of the trade partner are.

I don't want to trade for Bobby Ryan. Only for the simple reason that he's shown that his heart lies in Philly. Obviously, his mind could be changed, but Im not enthusiastic about trading for him unless he showed that he wanted to come here and stay. I'd also rather not trade for a rental like Getzlaf or Perry (both of whom I'd be fine with on this team) unless they were interesting in re-signing, or Lou swings a Kovy-type deal that he got from Waddell.

I agree with 7 in respect to the "type" of trade I'd like to see. Making trades for Poni types (3rd line type guys) is a lateral move IMO, espc when we don't have Parise anymore. This is going to be a weaker team offensively most likely and if we're going to trade for a forward, I want it to be a guy that will have an impact on one of the top 2 lines and to get that guy we will have to make a sacrifice and I'd rather that trade be for a guy that is a relative "sure-thing" and not a "let's hope he can" situation or a reclamation project.

I think every single player in this organization is potential trade bait right now except for Larsson, Henrique, and Kovy. Anyone else, including all prospects, should be and have to be IMO included in any discussion regarding a trade, obviously depending on whoever the target is and what the needs of the trade partner are.

As for the entire organization being trade bait, I strongly disagree. Lou has shown that he can be patient and isn't going to blow up a team that went on a Cup run last year. If we do see another signing/acquisition it will be another Butler or Darche type deal. Mid season, then I think we could see a Ponikarovsky/Zidlicky deal go through

As for the entire organization being trade bait, I strongly disagree. Lou has shown that he can be patient and isn't going to blow up a team that went on a Cup run last year. If we do see another signing/acquisition it will be another Butler or Darche type deal. Mid season, then I think we could see a Ponikarovsky/Zidlicky deal go through

Why would he have to "blow up" anything to get a stronger player? We're not going to be trading for Crosby. I agree that if any deal is made its going to be the type you suggest, but it also depends on the market. These lateral moves aren't going to make up for what we lost with Zach's departure.

We got Kovy without blowing up anything. Same with Zidlicky. Both of those deals made us better. More Mathieu Darche's aren't. We have enough 3rd/4th line cogs. We need a top 2 guy.

I don't want to trade for Bobby Ryan. Only for the simple reason that he's shown that his heart lies in Philly. Obviously, his mind could be changed, but Im not enthusiastic about trading for him unless he showed that he wanted to come here and stay.

Ugh, give me a break with this crap. Who cares if he's originally a Philly fan? That has absolutely zero bearing on whether or not NJ would want to bring him over in a trade. Personally, I don't think that NJ even has the assets to do so. But I guarantee you if they did and if they wanted to bring him here, Lou wouldn't say "No way, he used to be a Flyers fan, ewwww." Many, many players get traded to places they don't initially want to go to and are still successful there. This gets brought up fairly often, but Scott Stevens really did not want to come here when he was first awarded to us and fought the decision. We all know how that turned out.

I don't think a Bobby Ryan trade to NJ trade could possibly happen right now anyway, so it's probably a moot point, but still.

I agree with 7 in respect to the "type" of trade I'd like to see. Making trades for Poni types (3rd line type guys) is a lateral move IMO, espc when we don't have Parise anymore. This is going to be a weaker team offensively most likely and if we're going to trade for a forward, I want it to be a guy that will have an impact on one of the top 2 lines and to get that guy we will have to make a sacrifice and I'd rather that trade be for a guy that is a relative "sure-thing" and not a "let's hope he can" situation or a reclamation project.

But who? Who are we going to sacrifice that would net us a superstar player in return? We simply don't have the kind of assets right now to make a trade for a 1st line player without completely devastating the rest of the team. Lou, Deboer, and co. have made it pretty clear that the team's mindset right now is not to replace Parise with one guy. What we need to do is pick up one or two forwards that can fill out the team's depth so that we don't have our 4th liners from last year playing on our 3rd line and goons and scrubs filling out our 4th line. Picking up a mid-level forward who can contribute some points via trade or maybe taking a shot at Gomez (or both) is going to be the best we can do, and honestly, I think we will be fine on offense, assuming we can stay healthy. Our defense is still great and, well, hopefully Marty is still good enough.

Ugh, give me a break with this crap. Who cares if he's originally a Philly fan? That has absolutely zero bearing on whether or not NJ would want to bring him over in a trade. Personally, I don't think that NJ even has the assets to do so. But I guarantee you if they did and if they wanted to bring him here, Lou wouldn't say "No way, he used to be a Flyers fan, ewwww." Many, many players get traded to places they don't initially want to go to and are still successful there. This gets brought up fairly often, but Scott Stevens really did not want to come here when he was first awarded to us and fought the decision. We all know how that turned out.

I look at it from my own perspective. If I'm a pro hockey player, I'm not going to be as enthusiastic about playing and staying in the same division for the rival of my team growing up. Ryan's contract is up in '15. I dont want to consider the risk of losing him to Philthy. These guys are still fans! I don't care who he's a fan of. It's more what he's said recently in respect to his future. He WANTS Philly. That's not to say he wouldnt play here, but I'd rather look into other potential moves first.

But who? Who are we going to sacrifice that would net us a superstar player in return? We simply don't have the kind of assets right now to make a trade for a 1st line player without completely devastating the rest of the team. Lou, Deboer, and co. have made it pretty clear that the team's mindset right now is not to replace Parise with one guy. What we need to do is pick up one or two forwards that can fill out the team's depth so that we don't have our 4th liners from last year playing on our 3rd line and goons and scrubs filling out our 4th line. Picking up a mid-level forward who can contribute some points via trade or maybe taking a shot at Gomez (or both) is going to be the best we can do, and honestly, I think we will be fine on offense, assuming we can stay healthy. Our defense is still great and, well, hopefully Marty is still good enough.

Our prospect pool is our position of strength right now. What did we get Kovy for? A bucket of wings and a cigarette? It completely depends on who we're trading for as well. Obviously, any move we make will have to be a package deal with futures involved. I have no idea who's available for trade aside from the same names that were available last year. None of our prospects are sure things. Everyone overrates our prospects. How's Corrente turned out? Howbout Bergfors? Tedenby? All fanbases overrate their own pieces, so its not a knock, but where we are right now, if we have a chance to bring in a guy (and if it is Ryan, Im not against the move) who is a sure-fire threat offensively, we take the risk of trading a potentially good player (or two) whose value is high since there's virtually nothing on the main roster that we can offer aside from an enhancement piece (i.e. Tallinder). I don't know the value of our prospects, so it obviously depends on our trading partner.

Why would he have to "blow up" anything to get a stronger player? We're not going to be trading for Crosby. I agree that if any deal is made its going to be the type you suggest, but it also depends on the market. These lateral moves aren't going to make up for what we lost with Zach's departure.

We got Kovy without blowing up anything. Same with Zidlicky. Both of those deals made us better. More Mathieu Darche's aren't. We have enough 3rd/4th line cogs. We need a top 2 guy.

Well just suggesting that "any guy" with the exception of those you mentioned is trade bait is way too much for me. Personally, I think we're looking at "replacing" Zach the wrong way. I think we had to replace Poni, which we did (or attempted to) with Butler. As for making up for Zach's departure, I just think we have to set Kovalchuk up to score as much as possible, I think a big 30 something goal season could be in the cards for Kovalchuk (or whatever the conversion would be for about a 50 goal season in 82 games) And from there, having Zajac in the lineup will add some offense, and we have to expect a big game from at least Josefson OR Tedenby.